Under the Mistletoe
by Lily MJ Fae
Summary: A small "what if" fic comparing what might have happened if harry had kissed Luna when they were under the mistletoe.


_**A/N:**_ _This is for finals round one of the Quidditch League Fanfiction competition. I'm a seeker for the Wasps. My prompt was to write about how how every action affects the future. Happy Holidays._

 _Final Word Count: 1239_

* * *

Harry made his way to the Room of Requirement. It was always quiet before his classmates (students?) arrived. He liked it though. He liked the space it gave him to think and process. It made him feel at ease. So he always tried to arrived early.

Luna had beaten him there. She was standing in the room, looking at something as he approached. He offered her a small smile. "Hello, Luna."

She turned on him, those wide silvery eyes sparkling at him. "Oh, hello, Harry," she greeted. "Aren't they lovely?"

She was gesturing to the various christmas decorations around the room that were relatively new.

"Did the room do this?" Harry wondered out loud.

Luna smiled. "Perhaps. But I think I saw a house-elf in here earlier."

"Dobby," Harry mused. It had to have been Dobby.

Harry continued to look around...until his gaze traveled up and he saw the green plant above their heads.

"Mistletoe…"

Luna's gaze traveled up to it too. "It's probably full of nargles."

"What?"

"Nargles. They live in mistletoe. And they like to steal your things and hide them."

* * *

 _Harry felt a bit confused and stepped out from under the mistletoe, feeling a tad uncomfortable. Luna hadn't appeared upset, as she stepped away too. "That's probably a good idea," she stated._

 _The lesson continued on, as it should have. And when it ended, Harry and Cho Chang were left alone in the room. Cho was staring at a picture of Cedric, one Harry was certain she'd brought in._

" _Do you think he knew all of this stuff?" she asked softly as Harry approached her._

 _He knew she needed the comfort, that's why she was asking. But he didn't want to talk about her dead boyfriend. It hurt to think of Cedric. Still, he answered easily. "Oh yeah. Cedric knew a lot of stuff."_

" _It's just weird, to think that I might be learning something he didn't know…"_

" _He knew a lot," Harry just repeated._

 _They stood awkwardly for a moment before turning to leave. Though Cho looked up, noticing the mistletoe between them._

" _Oh…" she whispered. She looked at Harry._

 _He wasn't sure if he should kiss her. He wanted to. He'd wanted to kiss her for a while now. But after just talking about her dead boyfriend? The boyfriend that had more or less died because of him? But she looked almost like she expected him to, like perhaps she wanted him to._

" _Err, yeah," he mumbled, looking at her. And then he made a decision._

 _He leaned in and pressed gentle, inexperienced lips to hers. It felt nice. For a moment. Until he felt warm, salty tears at their lips and then he pulled away._

 _Both were red faced, though Harry was happy enough, especially as he walked her back to Ravenclaw tower._

* * *

"Should I…" Harry started, feeling unsure. He'd never kissed anyone. And Luna wasn't exactly the girl he'd hoped to be his first kiss.

But he wasn't opposed either. She was nice, and eccentric. She'd supported him though. Completely and utterly. They'd never even met before this school year. And she was so... _good_.

So he kissed her. It was swift, and soft, lips barely meeting her cheek before he was gone and stepping away. "Couldn't leave a friend like that," he offered, in case she thought him weird for doing that.

But there was a soft pinkness to Luna's cheek. Surprise in her eyes revealed that she'd not even remotely expected anything more than an excuse to get away. "Oh, it's alright. But here, hold on." Luna ruffled through her bag for a moment. Then she pulled out a chain with several butterbeer caps on it.

"What's-"

"It's to keep the nargles away. Just in case."

"Oh." He looked at it for a moment, before slipping it over his head and tucking it into his shirt. "Thank you, Luna. That's really cool."

She only smiled and they were too soon joined by the rest of DA filing in.

* * *

 _Harry glanced at Cho, remembering how horridly their date had gone last year. There was once a time, he might have tried to invite her to one of Slughorn's ridiculous events. But his mind-heart?-had shifted attention to Ginny. She was fierce and passionate. He hadn't known what changed, only that suddenly she was catching his eye._

 _But she was taken._

 _He couldn't have her. And he respected that, but he didn't mind waiting either._

 _And he'd had her. Her kisses were nice. Not wet and confusing. But he was a risk to her. He ended it, and he hurt her. He could see it, even if she wouldn't admit it._

* * *

Harry was at a loss for who he should take to Slughorn's party. Hermione had decided to go with McLaggen, which was fine. Though he'd have liked to go with a friend. Then he saw her. Her blonde hair as it waved behind her, and her bare feet on the cold castle floor.

Luna! She was a brilliant choice. He liked Luna. She was nice, and interesting, and the first girl he'd kissed, even if it was just her cheek. He hadn't been able to stop thinking about it either. Though he couldn't say why. And she'd been the only one who seemed to understand his feelings at the end of the year last year.

"Luna!"

She turned, and those moonbright eyes lit with her smile. "Hello, Harry."

He grabbed the back of his neck with his hand as he offered her a smile too. "Hey, Luna. I wanted to ask you something."

She tilted her head at him slightly and asked, "Oh?"

"Yeah, I was wondering, if you might like to go with me. To this party."

Her face lit up, as if no one had ever considered her for anything. "I'd love to go with you Harry. No one has ever invited me to a party before."

"Really?"

She shook her head.

"Well, I'm glad I'll get to take you then."

She was beautiful. Luna had a natural beauty that radiated from her pure joy at the simplest things. Harry did not regret bringing her. She seemed to be truly enjoying himself, and so was he.

In fact as he went to find her so they could leave, after overhearing some interesting information from Snape and Malfoy, he'd begun to look at her in a new light. And he hadn't expected it.

"Oh look, mistletoe."

He looked up at her words. And sure enough, as they were walking they'd wandered under it. His mouth twitched in a smile as he reached for the chain around his neck. "Good thing I can ward off the nargles," he mused.

She beamed, even brighter than she had all night. And Harry felt his stomach flutter before he was kissing her, their lips meeting this time.

He pulled back and met her gaze. "Sorry, I-"

"It's alright Harry. It's just mistletoe. I understand."

He blinked. That's what she thought? He shook his head. "No, Luna. It's not _just_ because it's mistletoe. I-I like you."

"Oh."

The surprise in her voice hurt him a little. Hadn't she thought that even a little possible?

"We don't have to…"

She smiled. "No, I like you too Harry."

"You do?"

She gave a small nod. And his smile grew, before he grabbed her hand and led her into the hall so they could be alone and talk.


End file.
